‘This is the home we left behind’: Fire victims face deadline to leave RV Park
Ted Ancona and his wife, Valerie Mathews, drove their 24-foot recreational vehicle in Summer to the mountains of Eastern Nevada and Albuquerque, Ancona’s birthplace. Now, after the couple lost their Altadena home in the Eaton fire, the RV is giving them a lifetime.
“This is our home,” said Ancona, 73, sitting at a wooden picnic table outside an RV in San Dimas Camplegn. “This is the home we left behind.”
Ancona and Mathews, 71, survived the fire with pictures clinging to the walls and their tabby calby callie mix. Ancona drove off in their truck and Mathews took the wheel of the RV.
After spending a few nights in the Rose Bowl Parking Lot, the Anconas and Mathews found a spot at the Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort and Campground, in the Countryside area. They are grateful to have escaped the punishing housing market, where thousands of families were forced into by the Eaton and Palisades fires. The price of the ride, bidding wars and shortage of available homes.
But after nearly three weeks at the campground, the couple face a Wednesday deadline to leave. The resort prohibits long stays.
“The fear was getting less and less as I tried to figure out where we could go,” Mathews said.
The Anconas and Mathews’ experience highlights a nest of restrictions that can prevent distraught families from finding places to live while they wait to rebuild or search for a permanent home elsewhere. The reasons for the laws that were put in place before the fire, such as allowing more people to have access to recreational facilities, are now being put into place.
Rob Sagnario, general manager of the private RV Park operator, said his hands are tied because the time limit is written into his lease with the County. He said the park has several wildfire victims living there.
La County leaders say they are aware of the problem and plan to act before Ancon and Mathews’ eviction day. On Tuesday, County commissioners are scheduled to vote on a measure to lift occupancy restrictions at two state-of-the-art RV parks during the emergency, Bonelli Bluffs and one at Dokeiler State Beach. The latter is closed this month for annual maintenance but will reopen in February.
“We are committed to meeting our residents in their care and support now and throughout our love for this devastating fire,” said manager Lindsey Horvath, who represents Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas including Dodwade. HORVATH is a co-author of the proposed time limits at the two parks with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and San Dimas.
Ted Anconan holds a piece of the unity that he and his wife were able to spread out of the clothing of their home of 40 years that was destroyed by the Eaton fire.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
But the County’s action doesn’t extend to the many RV parks it manages, some of which have similar restrictions on how many people can be there. Daniel Wemumelelo owns the grid, 108-lot RV Park in Lake Hughes, and his County permit expires no more than three weeks. AIsWred said he asked County officials to raise the law, but was denied.
“I see no reason not to let people stay in our park,” WesWredy said. “We have spaces ready and available for people who have lost their homes and their county is telling us honestly no.”
Susan TAE, the assistant chief of staff at the Department of State’s Department of Homeland Security, said that the residential grid places the highest missiles and RV parks in those areas with no occupancy rules.
“We continue to explore many ways to help those affected by the fires,” said Tae. “However, these must be balanced against ensuring the long-term public health and safety of all County residents.”
Barger, whose district includes Lake Hughes, said he has considered approving a separate proposal to lift time limits for private RV parks.
“I want to explore all possible solutions and I will bring together the collective expertise of our Los Angeles County Department to determine what can be done to provide as many opportunities as possible,” said Barger.
Anconas and Mathews are hoping to get their reps. For now, San Dimas is the best place they can imagine being. It’s close to their old home, near Mathews’ brother who lives in Bree and allows Mathews to be pre-scheduled for a physical appointment in Pasadena to repair the right arm.
The couple plans to rebuild in Altadena. The house has been in their family since 1957 when Mathews was 4 years old. Five weddings for friends and family were held on Tront Lawn. They left behind a collection of 10 cars, photo albums and apps that have been in their families for generations.
While they wait for the debris to be cleared, the Anconas and Mathews plan to drive up to San Francisco to stay with their daughter who is expecting her fourth grandchild.
But they believe spending a few more weeks in camp first will help them recover.
“I’ve never wasted all my resources,” Mathews said. “It’s too much time. You get on the phone and stay for hours. At 5 o’clock in the evening, I can’t think anymore.”
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